The countries perceived to have the least corrupt public sectors were Denmark, Finland and New Zealand, which all scored 90.

Ranked 174, Somalia, North Korea and Afghanistan were perceived as having the most corrupt public sectors, with a score of eight the same as last year.

African countries made up 13 of the bottom 30 countries in the world.

Zimbabwe was ranked 163, Chad 165 and Sudan 173.

“Two thirds of the 176 countries ranked in the 2012 index score below 50, on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (highly clean), showing that public institutions need to be more transparent, and powerful officials more accountable,” Transparency International said in a statement on its website. - Sapa